JK Rowling, I hate you.....

I finished HP6 Friday night. It was awesome and it was terrible. And I am already, once again, going through Harry Potter Withdrawals. Hurry up and be November so we can have the HP4 movie.

No news from the evil school regarding our midterm. No response from the email I sent to the coordinator of the part-time program. From what I understand she does not return calls, either. I hate my school.

We moved back into our office on Friday. I have been promoted to a big desk, and now there will only be two people sitting in the office, rather than three. The Athletics Office Manager is getting her own office, and this will greatly reduce the amount of traffic in the Dean's office. I am glad things will be getting back to normal, at last.

We took David to get his haircut yesterday. He looks so handsome. Now we are ready to start a new school year. I can't believe he is already going into the third grade. How can that be? He was only born yesterday. He still seems so young to me. I can't say small, because he is nearly 5 feet tall already. Sunrise...sunset.

Two weeks from today is my 13th wedding anniversary. It's been a good marriage. Willie is a good husband, and puts up with a lot of crap by being married to me. He gets along with my wierd family. He hasn't totally lost his mind even though I have been involved in 3 car accidents since we have been together. He forgives a lot of my faults. And he is still crazy about me after all these years. I am a very lucky girl.

Oh, well. The laundry beckons.

W.:)

The test that wasn't...

So last night was supposed to be the midterm for Med-Surg. I have been studying my butt off (tho' you really couldn't tell by looking). I have absorbed as much as I am going to at this point.

Everyone is in class at 18:00 sharp (a miracle in itself, trust me). Then we wait, and wait, and wait. Someone decides to call our original instructor (BTW, what kind of school forces an instructor to take 6 weeks off in the middle of the course?) to find out what is going on, because the interim instructor decided to go to Rio de Janeiro before giving her one and only test. Connie (our regular teacher) says that the DIRECTOR OF THE NURSING PROGRAM was supposed to administer the test, and left (forgot). Great. So we all sit around lamenting and commiserating until the official class time ended.

Turns out we may not get to take our test until we go back after a month long break. Of course in the meantime we are supposed to be pre-reading chapters for the second half, as well as start reading up on Pharmacology which begins in August.

I hate my school. I swear, as part-timers, we are treated as the red-headed step children of the nursing program. I'm writing a letter.

I had sworn to myself that I would not start HP6 until after I completed my midterm. I started it last night. I am halfway through. It is really good. From the first paragraph I could feel myself getting drawn into the story. I am really not looking forward to the end of this series. From comments I have seen floating about about the ending of this book, I am a bit fearful what the end will hold.

Please, no one tell me.

My car has been completely fixed (I hope). First it was the front wheel hollering, which led to the discovery of a bent rim (not the cause of the sound). Then I discovered the seatbelt on the passenger side wasn't working, and when I pulled on it hard, the back interior panel popped off. But now all that is fixed. Thank heavens.

Back to work at the office again. Almost back to normalcy. I have my own computer, which has a flat monitor. This has opened up a lot of space on the table where I have been working. Yay for space. I imagine we will be coming in this weekend to move all our stuff back into the office.

TTFN

W. :)

A little ventilation....

Ok, I am a big girl. Have been pracically my whole life. I accept that it is my fate to be larger than the average bear woman. I have always been taller as a child and even now, and definitely of a larger frame. I also am carrying a lot of excess weight around at the moment. But I am aware of that, as well. I don't fool myself for a second.

However, I get extremely peeved when I hear certain businesses refer to products, clothing, etc, as for "real" women when they mean "fat" women. And they always use this little catch phrase: "Not every woman is a stick thin size 2. Real women have curves." Huh?

So, do sizes only go from 2 then straight up to 20? Are people less real because they happen to be thin? Are those really curves? Why is it that big women feel the need to attack women of smaller size? Is it because they feel threatened?

Every time I hear the phrase "real woman" my skin crawls a little. Because it is discriminatory, intolerant, and as far as I'm concerned, if you are an adult female you are a real woman, regardless of what size you wear.

My best friend is a size 0-2. Sure, I envy her little tiny body. But you know what? She has just as many hangups and insecurities about her body as I do mine. And she is gorgeous and can wear anything and look fabulous!!!

Now, what I do love is Dove's "Real Faces of Beauty" campaign. It embraces all types, colors, and ages. Yay, Dove!!! You get my money.

You are beautiful because you are you, and there is no one else like you. Just be the best you possible.

W.:)

Well, I thought it was all better....

My car is going back to the shop tomorrow. It is making a horrible sound, much akin to hollering.

Sadness......

W.

My baby has come home....

I finally got my car back last night!!!!!! I am so happy. This has been a long six weeks. I didn't miss driving, so much as the ability to just go somewhere if I felt like it.

It looks as good as new, and is much cleaner than when I left it with them. (Yay for free detailing!) However, my trunk is still quite a mess. But, then it usually is.

This past Wednesday, Willie only had to work for two hours, and then had the rest of the day off, so we took the opportunity to have alone time and went to the movies (oh, gee, Wendy went to the movies. What a surprise.), and saw "The Wedding Crashers." That movie was hysterical. I have not seen a movie where I laughed so much in years. My poor husband spent most of the movies all contracted, silently shaking, while tears streamed down his face. I guess he liked it. It was nice to have just us time, in the middle of the day. If felt like skipping school without the chance of going to CSI (inschool suspension, for you goody-goody types).

This working part time at the University has been real interesting. I can't get squat done at the temporary digs, because I have no room to put a paper down on the table where the computer is set up, and my job is 90% paperwork. So, I brought my work home with me. It's so much more fun to work while lying in bed anyway.

Anyhoo, I am at school, studying for my midterm exam. There is tons to cover. Cancer, diabetes, STD's, women's health isssues, musculoskeletal.

On with the show....

W. :)

Walking, walking, walking...

Guess how many miles I walked yesterday? Go on, guess.

Answer: six

Guess how hot it was yesterday?

Answer: really, really

Guess what color my face and shoulders are today?

Answer: ROCK LOBSTER!!!

Did I sleep well last night?

You betcha!

Why so much walking? Well, I STILL don't have my car back. (tomorrow makes 6 weeks) I tried to ride my bike to work, got a mile from my home and got a flat tire. So I had to walk the bike back home. Then I walked back to the office. Then I walked to the post office to pick up a package (thanks Secret Pal. I loved everything. Yummy pink merino-alpaca. Enough DIY sock yarn for 2 pairs. No pictures, unfortunately, because the husband has bogarted the camera.) Then I walked to the pool, since it was a few blocks from the post office, to see what David was up to at camp. Then it was the very long trek home. 6 miles.

W. :)

Woohoo!!!!

Second skills lab finished!!! As much as I prayed for Foley insertion, I ended up with tracheostomy care. However, I passed. Tada!!!!

Now on to the midterm. And then a much needed month off, with much activity. There's books (not related to nursing) to read, things to knit, places to go, and things to do. Oh, yeah, and my 13th wedding anniversary. (Love you Willie)

For fall, I will continue the second half of med-surg and clinicals, but we will have pharmacology to round out the week. They have decided that they want to move the second class to another night, rather than after clinicals. Therefore, I will now have classes two nights a week, along with clinicals on Saturday.

I am so looking forward to the Spring term. We will finally do peds and ob (where my heart really lies).

Last night was the bellydance program. It was so good. The dancers were excellent, and the costumes were beautiful. I miss taking lessons. That is one thing I definitely want to get back into once I finish school.

Time to go home and relax for a bit. Then it Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with the boychild. It is so brutally hot and humid. I can't stand to be outside right now.

Winter, where are you.

W. :)

I have nothing real to say so let's talk TV....

Last night after another battle with my Med-Surg book and actually staying awake while studying, I decided to watch a little TV. Now, I am not a big TV fan. I have no programs I watch on a regular basis, except Scrubs when I remember it is on. Oh and I do love the PBS. Because I am a nerd.

Anyhow, I digress. One of my very favoritest bands from my youth has decided that they need money a new lead singer. Sow how do they do it? Why reality show, of course! INXS is having a contest to decide the new lead singer. It may very well be a chick, because most of the guys sucked.

I don't know why I am always to shocked to see how old my favorite rock stars have gotten. The cute drummer, Jon Farris, looked just like Donny Osmond last night.



Oh, Michael Hutchence! Why did you have to kill yourself?

W. :)

Where did she go?

Here I am!! And here is my new haircut:



I look just as tired as I feel. I even put on the dreaded makeup, so as to not look completely dead.

We had an awesome July 4th weekend. It wound up being an unexpected date weekend with the husband. David went south to visit my mom. We went out to dinner at a real grownup place with cloth napkins and everything. (Thai House II.....mmmm Yummy.) Also went to see "War of the Worlds" (s'ok) and "Bewitched" (save your money and time). We spent some good quality time, and made lots of family plans for the rest of the year. (vacations, canoeing trips, camping, etc.)

Sunday, we went to my grandma's house for a cookout, fircrackers and swimming. Later on that evening, I took my son to see the fireworks at FIU North. See:



Thanks to Dennis we did not have clinicals this weekend. What with being at a hospital on the beach, it was deemed unsafe to travel in the middle of 50 MPH winds across some bridges in the rain. Yay for sleeping in. Boo for not getting to work with my patient. I had a really good one this week. So it was just skills lab and watching the tracheostomy care video in the library.

That evening we went to visit my sister-in-law and took my niece and David to see the "Fantastic Four." (very good)

Yesterday, I had to turn in my rental car. However, I still do not have my own car back. Want to see its current condition? It's not good, especially consindering it has been a month already. Here goes:



Giant dent, which is now developing rust where the metal is exposed. See the plastic? That is because the window is now sitting in the back seat. (???) See how the car just sort of ends just past the still very damaged door? That is because when you walk to the front it looks like this:



On the good side, at least the wheel is not sticking out at a 90 degree angle anymore.

Here is the door:



and here is what it looks like inside:



Yep the gearshift is still in two pieces. Grrr. Also, that shiny thing on the front passenger seat is my right headlight.

Yep lots of progress there. And supposedly, it will be ready by Friday. Of course I have heard this every week for a month now. I am beginning to feel like the movie "The Money Pit." Where everything is supposed to take two weeks.

Oh, and David did get his green belt in Karate. However, he was not wearing it when he came home, so I will take the picture tonight. And of course there will be studying. I swear they should sell my med-surg book in the sleep aid aisle of the pharmacy.

We are studying women's health. Next up is STD's. Then my mid-term is in two weeks. YIKES!!!!! Where did the time go?

W. :)